French prosecutors want activists who bared their breasts in Notre Dame Cathedral to pay thousands of euros in fines for damages, according to The Associated Press.
Nine activists from feminist group Femen pounded a huge church bell in the landmark Paris cathedral in February 2013 to express anger at the Catholic Church's opposition to gay marriage, and to "celebrate" the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the AP reported.
A topless woman, a member of the Femen protest group, who had the slogan "Life in plastic is not fantastic" scrawled across her chest, set fire to a Barbie doll tied to a mini crucifix, according to the AP.
"There's too much emphasis on becoming more beautiful and on being pretty and that puts an awful lot of pressure on girls as well as wasting capacities which they could use to simply be happy or for school," said Stevie Meriel Schmiedel, a founding member of the "Pink Stinks" protest group, the AP reported.
The activists, wearing T-shirts and garlands, went on trial in Paris on Wednesday in a case that pit arguments for freedom of speech against proponents of freedom of religion, according to the AP.
"We are asking for the reparation of moral and material damages because of damage done to the bells, and by extension to religious freedom in France," said a lawyer for Notre Dame, Laurent Devolve, the AP reported.
The prosecutor requested fines of $2,040 against each activist for charges of damaging property, according to the AP. Femen leader Inna Shevchenko called for a larger discussion about the role of religion in France, which is strictly secular but has deep Roman Catholic roots.
"Religion is an untouchable subject. You can discuss whatever you want, but you cannot question if God exists or how absurd it is to apply rules or traditions of religion in secular state," she told reporters at the courthouse, the AP reported.
Also on trial were Notre Dame guards who pulled the activists off the bell, accused of acts of violence, with the prosecutor requesting suspended fines against the guards, according to the AP. A verdict will be issued Sept. 10.
